Music Power Rankings: Ladies Antebellum and Gaga rise to the top

The Grammys deserve a place on this week’s music power rankings as the annual music awards drew its largest audience in 11 years at 26.7 million. However, we decided to look, instead, at some of the artists who got the biggest tailwind from broadcast, as well as the week’s other top movers.

1) Lady Antebellum (not ranked last week): Five Grammys and a return to the No. 1 album on iTunes. Looks like we definitely Need Them Now.

2) Lady Gaga (No. 2): “Born This Way” is the fastest selling single ever for iTunes worldwide, arriving at No. 1 in 23 countries and surpassing sales of 1 million tracks in five days. It is also the 1,000 No. 1 on The Billboard Hot 100.
3) “Glee” (not ranked): The ultimate high school musical has now charted more Hot 100 singles than any other entity, surpassing Elvis Presley”s former record of 108. We understand how the charts work, but we feel there should be an asterisk by “Glee”s” name. Presley will always be the King to us.

4) Esperanza Spalding (are you kidding?): Sure, she went from 99% of the world having a clue she exists to everyone going, “Who?,” after snagging the Best New Artist Grammy, but that”s a step in the right direction. Plus, she”s ABC World News” “Person of the Week.” That has to count for something.

[More after the jump…]

5) Radiohead (not ranked): Some acts have elaborate six-month pre-release promotional plans (yes, LG, we mean you). Other acts simply announce a few days in advance that they will self-release their new album digitally via their own website and then delight fans by putting it out one day early.

7) Arcade Fire (not ranked): The surprising winner for album of the year captures two awards two days later at the Brit Awards. “The Suburbs” = worldwide domination.
8) Bonnaroo (not ranked): Once known as a jam festival, the Manchester, Tenn. festival names Eminem and Lil Wayne this year”s headliners, along with Arcade Fire, a reunited Buffalo Springfield and Bonnaroo vets My Morning Jacket. Jay Z headlined last year, while Kanye West pissed off festival goers in 2008, who were kept waiting more than 2 hours for his set.
9) Michael Jackson (not ranked): The King of Pop”s estate has earned more than $310 million since his June 2009 death according to court documents. He died more than $400 million in debt. We”re still trying to figure out what percentage of the $159 million that the estate has spent since his death is on legal fees.
10) Qriocity (not ranked): Yes, it”s a horrible name. It”s pronounced “curiousity,” btw. Bad name aside, Sony”s music subscription service finally launches in the U.S. For $10/month, subscribers can stream music from a catalog of 6 million titles. And if you”re keeping count, Spotify finally finalized its deal with EMI, although there”s still no definitive word when it will launch in the U.S.

With all the news currently focusing on the cast of ‘Glee’ breaking Elvis’ U.S.A. Singles record I thought the following article from this week’s ‘Billboard’ Magazine to be somewhat informative:

While “Glee” passes the King this week for most Hot 100 appearances, it’s certainly not too early to consider how much more history the cast can write.

It does seem like a safe bet that the “Glee” cast will hold the record for most Hot 100 hits for a very long time. But, to quote the artist whose music infused Tuesday’s (Feb. 15) episode, never say never.

It’s hard to imagine another type of act that could boast the cache/marketing push/multi-media platform to release multiple songs week after week and enjoy enough consumer support to send them onto the Hot 100.

By the end of the second season of “Glee” this spring, if the cast continues to place tracks on the Hot 100 at its current pace, it would add another approximately 40 titles to its total, bringing it to about 150 overall.

With the series renewed for a third season, 22 episodes x five Hot 100 hits a week = another potential 100 or so chart entries.

Thus, by spring 2012, the “Glee” cast, if it maintains its release schedule and popularity, could count approximately 250 Hot 100 chart hits.

Beyond that, who knows how long the show will remain a Fox juggernaut?

With Presley at 108 and no other artist in triple digits, no artist we now know of seems in the running to top the troupe’s Hot 100 record.

Of course, at this time in 2009, “Glee” had yet to debut on TV. While the series was set up to be a ratings success, having premiered after “American Idol,” who could’ve predicted that in less than two years the cast would have passed Presley for such a prestigious honor?

Thus, if “Glee” can overthrow the King so suddenly, perhaps another TV show can do the same to “Glee” in the future.

And, just as the digital era has revolutionized the way consumers can purchase music so instantaneously, we don’t know what future means of music delivery could affect chart performance many years from now.

So, in terms of overall Billboard chart hits, Presley’s total could stand at an unofficial 139 when combining multiple song surveys.

Further breaking down the “Glee” cast’s Hot 100 resume, of its 113 Hot 100 entries, just two have hit the top 10: “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” (No. 4) and “Teenage Dream” (No. 8). 36 of the 113 have reached the top 40.

Conversely, with 80 top 40 Hot 100 hits – 25 of which reached the top 10 – Presley is far and away the leader. Elton John ranks second with 57 top 40 titles, followed by the Beatles (50). 36 top 40 entries places the “Glee” cast in a tie with R. Kelly for 15th place.

As just 23 of the “Glee” cast’s 113 Hot 100 songs have logged more than one week on the list, the troupe’s total weeks count is 150.

And, of course, Presley introduced a bounty of classics to mainstream audiences, while the “Glee” cast has so far charted solely remakes (a streak that could end in upcoming weeks with the show’s rumored promise of original songs).

Ultimately, the “Glee” cast’s passing of Presley in one of the Hot 100 100’s most sacred categories is laudable.

It’s only one statistic, however, when examining the artists who have made some of the most memorable impacts in Hot 100 history.